Through a Glass Darkly made up one-third of Bergman's famed spiritual trilogy upon its release in 1961, netting the director an Academy Award and generating worldwide acclaim for stars Harriet Andersson and Max von Sydow.

In the revised stage adaptation, Mulligan takes on the role of tortured schizophrenic Karin, who struggles with delusions and a desire to know if God exists.

In lieu of simply capturing Karin's schizophrenia, Oscar winner Mulligan explained to Playbill magazine that she's focused on discovering the cause and effect of the character's agony.

"When I'm playing Karin, I'm not focusing on her illness but on what she wants and how it comes out in her make-up," the Drive star said.

Mulligan added: "She wants to be loved, she wants her family to be happy, she wants people to be kind to each other. It's a play about someone struggling with the fact the world isn't always kind and people aren't always good."

Through a Glass Darkly is playing through to July 3 at the New York Theatre Workshop.

Drive - also starring Ryan Gosling and Christina Hendricks - opens on September 16 in the US and on September 23 in the UK.